So I just bought a 2016 Fit EX in Silver. I bought it through the costco auto buying service so I thought I would break down my experience in two parts - Costco and the Honda Dealership - Delray Honda, Delray, FL

Costco Auto Buying Service
Go to their website and tell them what kind of car you are looking for (New or Certified PreOwned {CPO})
And then - and only then - will they tell you who your “Costco Approved” area dealer is. As I understand it every few months they negotiate with the dealer for a preapproved , no-haggle price.

I was in the market for (I thought) a small suv - Honda CR-V or HR-v, Mazda CX-5, or Subaru Forester. Costco doesn’t have an approved mazda dealer in my area (palm beach county, fl), the subaru dealer is a county away, and the Honda Dealership, while in my county is 20 miles away, there are a few Honda dealers much closer to me. There is only one costco approved dealership per car manufacturer in each warehouse area.

I started by looking for a certified preowned subaru forester. I filled out the form and costco tells me “Joey Arcaidi” is your dealer and BAM, just like that Joey Arcaidi dealership calls me but they dont have the vehicle I’m looking for (CPO Forester) but maybe I’d like to drive a new one. No thanks. I then filled out costco form for a CPO Mazda CX-5 only to be told no mazda dealerships in my area. I then filled out the form, looking for a CPO HRV and BAM just like that Delray Honda called me. I mean I got these calls within two minutes of entering my data. It probably helped that I was doing it at 0900 hrs. However, once again the dealer didn’t have a CPO HRV. It’s obvious costco doesn’t try to match the model you are looking for (although its a required field) only the make.

The dealer convinced me to come down and loom at CPO CRVs and new HRVs. My actual criteria for a vehicle was: new or slightly used, as small and fuel efficient as possible while still fitting my 3 year old son’s wheelchair in a pinch. Our other vehicle is an adapted odessy minivan so this would only be the odd case of transporting my son and wheelchair. After checking out the HRV and the magic seat, I realized the FIT might do the trick and thats how I ended up owning one.

I’ll post the deal but with a word of caution - again, as I understand it, Costco and American Honda are renegotiating these prices quarterly (or so). My deal was $1300 off of invoice for an in stock 2016 Fit EX plus the current Honda promotion of an additional $750 for a total of $2050 off invoice, and I qualified for Honda’s current 0.9% financing for 60 months. I could of financed 100% but the dealer allowed me to put $5000 on my double cashback card (2% or $100). No penalty for prepayment of loan but 5 years of finance charges is only $330 dollars.

I think the costco program is a good one, allowing for a good, not great price and a relatively stress free buying experience. I would like to see them try and match up make and model a little better and have “area” dealerships a little closer.

 

From speaking to a lot of internet managers and using different credit union and local DC area buying services (UBS), I've been told that when Costco has a targeted special on specific vehicles (let's say a specific Volvo or specific GM model), that the price "guts" the dealership selling them. In fact, there is very little profit margin on new cars anymore; certainly not like the 70's and 80's. USAA's website will show you any certified used car in their network across the country, so you can at least see what is out there and what it sells for. For me, if I am buying a used vehicle, I much prefer to buy from an individual and save the heavy profit margin tacked on to certified used vehicles. I also like the idea of learning everything about a car from the owner, rather than going to a dealer who knows NOTHING about the used cars sitting on their lot. For those who can afford to pay the markup, getting a certified used car through Costco, UBS, credit union, Consumer Reports, True Car, etc. is much less stressful than walking into the dealership cauldron. Congrats on your purchase OP

 

I had a similar buying experience through Costco when we bought our Prius V. We saved $2K off the list plus got 0.0% financing through Toyota.

There was no haggling. That part was the best value out of the Costco price pre-negotiation.

 

The problem is that the dealers don't want to participate in the Costco program, so you have to travel many miles to the one dealer that will. So Delray is a bit of a drive since nobody in Miami will pick up the Costco deal......